Pals edge Giants, snap five-game skid

Renren Ritualo converted a difficult clutch shot off Roger Yap with 6.4 seconds left then the Talk n Text Phone Pals put up a key defensive stop to snap a five-game losing streak with a 102-101 squeaker over the Purefoods Giants last night in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Astrodome.

The Pals needed those two crucial plays in the dying seconds to survive the Giants’ endgame siege and preserve Terrence Leather’s huge double-double numbers in his second game in the local pro league.

It was Talk n Text’s fourth straight game that went down to the wire with Ritualo’s difficult jumper ending the Pals’ losing spell as TnT stayed in the hunt for an outright semifinals seat.

Five days after rifling in the game-winning shot versus Red Bull, Purefoods top gun James Yap passed up the chance for another endgame heroics, kicking the ball instead to Roger Yap in the closing seconds.

Harvey Carey blocked Roger Yap’s jump shot from the left flank and the Pals eventually clinched their eighth win against the same number of losses.

Purefoods was eased out of the fight for an outright semis slot on its ninth defeat in 16 outings.

“I think we’re due for a win after losing our last three games on last possession. That 0-3 could have been easily 3-0,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“We’ve long stopped looking at the team standings. We’ll keep on plodding along. We have two games left and we’ll see what will happen,” Reyes added.

The Pals fell behind by 12 in the first half but refused to give up, riding high on Leather’s 39-point and 22-rebound effort to build a 100-93 lead with 1:53 left to play.

Leather himself took on Yap defensively with the Giants looking to salvage the game in the closing seconds.

“It was a gamble. We wanted to deny James Yap a perimeter shot. Because Leather was taller, James was forced to pass. Luckily, we read it right,” said Reyes.

Before the last two plays, Yap snared a big offensive rebound and scored on a one-handed jumper to cap an eight-to-nothing run pushing Purefoods ahead at 101-100.

Yap, June Peter Simon and Kerby Raymundo had to carry the cudgels for the team in the fourth as import Reda Rhalimi picked up a fifth foul with over eight minutes left to play.

Still, Rhalimi finished with decent numbers with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

But these paled compared to Leather’s 39 points, 22 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two assists. Leather matched the second highest output in the season earlier made by Mark Caguioa. Darius Rice’s 56 remains the largest by any player.